By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator(Dr) George Akume has appealed to Archbishop Emeritus John Cardinal Onaiyekan to accept President Tinubu-led government as legitimate having been sworn in according to law.
The SGF made the appeal weekend at the thanksgiving Mass to mark the 70th anniversary (Platinum) celebration of the Order of the Knight of St. Mulumba, Nigeria at St Gabriel’s Chaplaincy, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Durumi, Abuja.
The appeal is coming on the heels of recent position of Cardinal Onaiyekan to the effect that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not be sworn in before the outcome of the ongoing Presidential election Petition tribunal.
Cardinal Onaiyekan had at a recent television interview described the outcome of the election which produced President Tinubu as “tragically questionable results”. INEC had declared Tinubu the winner of the February, 2023 Presidential election.
“I love peace, but will never endorse Tinubu’s discredited victory to pacify Nigerians” Onaiyekan had said.
But Akume while speaking at the KSM thanksgiving Mass used the occasion to appeal to the Archbishop Emeritus to accept Tinubu’s government as legitimate and give the administration a chance to deliver on its campaign promises.
The SGF thereafter announced a donation of N7 million in support of the KSM Nigeria towards its charity work and evangelism.
Speaking further, Senator Akume who described himself as a devoted Catholic and Knight of the Church, named other top political office holders in the present administration who are Catholics to include the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Ben Kalu.
In his keynote address at a reception after the Mass, the Supreme Knight, Sir Dr. Charles Mbelede said in 70 years, KSM has become a household name.
He stated that the Order through its consistent trajectory of success, innovation, evangelism, investments and other benchmarks and capacity building, has etched itself as a global brand.
According to him, the Order which was founded on 14th June, 1953, “was exactly 70 years three days ago on June 14, 2023, adding that “KSM the little mustard seed has become an Iroko”.
Mbelede further stated that the KSM has grown from a Subordinate Council of 23 founding members, two of whom later became Bishops with Founder Abbot Abraham Ojefua as the Pioneer Grand Knight to the present strength of 285 Sub Councils across nine Metropolitan Councils.
“With a current numerical strength of over 23,000 membership cuts across all the professions and host of other skills across every sector of the economy. It has an emphatic presence in Cameroon and Uganda. The decision to adopt an African saint a a Role model, underscores Ojefua’s world view and commitment to his African roots, he added.